The holidays are over, but we’re still making our way through winter.   I feel like I’m freezing 24/7, and it’s the perfect time to hunker down with a good book.   I actually didn’t get many new ones for Christmas, but I have been trying to make my way through my TBR (to be read) pile.    The books I have this month are a hodge-podge mix of all different types, not my usual always stalker killers.

As always, thanks for returning to the reviews and letting me or Maureen know any books you love! –@glossinbossin, @caughtinsouthie, @josiegl

What I read this month

The Unhoneymooners, by Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren is an automatic author for me.  Her books are hilarious and full of laugh-out-loud scenes that you can slightly imagine happening to someone close to you.  The Unhoneymooners doesn’t disappoint in that aspect.  Imagine the wedding of your sister’s dreams combined with the scene from Dumb and Dumber on the toilet.  Far-fetched?  Maybe, but not with this norovirus running around.

Due to such an incident, Olive is relieved of her maid of honor duties at her twin’s wedding and is gifted with a Hawaiian honeymoon.  After being released from her job, Olive needs this vacation and prepares for a few days on black sand beaches with the water between her toes.  What she didn’t plan for was for the groom’s brother to redeem the second ticket. Ethan is pretty much the perfect swipe right, except every time that Olive has run into him she finds him staring her down with a disgusted scowl on his face.  These two are oil and water, but a combo that has to pretend to be a “newly married” couple on their honeymoon to enjoy all the perks.  Grab this book for laughs, transportation to a warm vacation, and an  unlikely duo you’ll root for.

Like Mother, Like Mother, by Susan Rieger

I grabbed this novel because a friend recommended it and because I wanted a book completely different from the ones I usually read.  The summary intrigued me: It is the story of three generations of women in one family, each with their own journey in a time relevant to them.  The three women and their stories weave in and out through the book, making it sometimes difficult to follow the locations and time periods. However, I never felt lost.

The center is Lila, a strong-willed, career-focused woman who is a mother by name but not a mother by actions.  There’s a scene between herself and her husband where she talks about not being fit to be a mother, but he’d be a wonderful father – that he’d be enough for both of them (39).   She wants to give him children; she knows that family is the path many take, but she just can’t identify as a typical “mother”.   It was a saddening scene, but the honesty she shares is refreshing.  This dynamic and feeling then rolls into the story of her daughter, Grace – who grows up with an absentee mother who is everything to everyone but her and her sisters.  We’re also pushed backwards to learn about Lila’s abusive childhood, what type of “mothering” she encountered on her own, and how its influence trickled down two more generations.

I still have a handful more pages to read before officially finishing, but I wanted to make sure I got it on the list of books to share this month.  The story at the heart of the book is that of the three women, but the author is talented including world events, a push of modern beliefs and a pull of old school values.  I think it’ll make you think of your own mother, what it means to be a mother in 2025, and how you got there. Note:  You do not have to be a mother to enjoy this book – I’m not!

Adelaide, by Genevieve Wheeler –  

I was working over at LoveChild, and we were talking about recent reads.  One shared that they’d recently finished Adelaide, and since I had it on my bookshelf, I grabbed it to read next.

Well, folks… I started this with high hopes and lots of love for Adelaide. A romantic book about love in your late 20s in London—especially one where you run into someone from a past encounter—must be fate, right? I rooted for Adelaide so hard that I found myself flipping the pages with such aggression that I had to tell myself to calm down.

We’re introduced to her current life – her job, her friends, and her lack of a love life until she runs into Rory, a flash of a “prince” she’d met in passing years prior.  In her mind, it’s all fate that they happen to reunite in the age of swiping right.  She falls hard and deeply and starts to see a life she hadn’t thought was for her.  However, she starts to sense she might be the only one on this path as continued mixed messages come her way.  Rory is faced with a tragedy in his own life, and Adelaide chooses to stay by his side through it all, not recognizing she’s playing second fiddle and being completely overlooked – as she’s doing it all in the name of a “supportive, empathetic partner.”

Is she needy?  Is she annoying?  Is he avoiding her?  Is he acting like every other man I know?  Is this  normal?  Is she desperate?  Has this been me in the past?

Ugly Love, by Colleen Hoover – 

Why do I torture myself with Colleen Hoover?  Why, after every book, do I say to myself, “Never again,” but then always pick up the next novel I see with her name on it?  They’re so terrible, but so easy, and I have to know what’s going to happen.

I’m not even going to review this one besides, if you’re a fan of her books – this one is right in line with them.  There’s a love story with ups, downs and a sharp turn where I definitely should have put the book down – but didn’t because her damn claws grabbed me.   An airline pilot?  They’re siblings?  What?  Stop.  Let me finish.

I’m currently finishing:

• The Art of the Scandal by Regina Black is about a woman who catches her up & coming husband sexting, so she decides to blackmail him for a million dollars and their mansion.    I’m halfway through and so far loving it!

• Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry tells us the story of two sisters sent to the countryside in the time of war.  Hazel who was supposed to be watching her younger sister – when tragedy strikes and Flora goes missing.  Years later, she comes upon a book from America that has the secret language and stories that only she/her sister knew.  I can’t put this one down – I need to know if Flora is still alive!

If you got this far, thank you.  Let us know if you’ve read any of these choices or what you’ve got next on your list via the comments on @caughtinsouthie or catch me at @glossinbossin, / @josiegl on Instagram.

FYI:  I’ve seen lots of “newer”  books lately in the Free Little Libraries around town.  Don’t forget to bring one, take one & keep them tidy.  My favorite spots include the ones in the parking lot of Julie’s Learning Center, the Laboure Center,  at the bottom of G/8th Street, at L Street and 5th, by the Tynan School, and the Clock Tavern by the fireplace (take only – not a drop off location).